My first thought when I got the call was how excited she must be. I have known many people in my life but no one that was as consistent in her devotion to Jesus as my mom. Thankfully my mom finally was released from her battle with Alzheimer's disease last night. And in that moment she saw Jesus face to face for the first time. I know she was so excited, like a kid going to Disney World.
My most consistent enduring memory of my mother will be her love and devotion for the Lord. She talked with Him all the time. I don't mean she prayed - she talked with Him - often out loud. She sang about Him and taught little children and other women (her church didn't allow women to teach men) about Him.
I don't remember any long conversations with my mom - just short bursts. I have a fuzzy recollection (I think inspired by stories from my sisters) of her telling me I would be a preacher - I told her that would never happen. I remember her giving me a Bible at eight and telling me to read it - I didn't. I remember her watching me leave home as a teenager in rebellion and telling me she was praying for me. I remember her giving me a Bible (again) when I had become a Christian and telling me to read it - I did this time. I remember her telling me the day I was married to make sure I treated Becky right. Mostly I will remember her sitting in the chair in our home with lamp on, her bible and a journal in her lap, talking with Jesus. She consistently loved Jesus and now she is with Him. How excited she must be.
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Put this in writing. From now on, the Lord will bless everyone who has faith in him when they die." The Spirit answered, "Yes, they will rest from their hard work, and they will be rewarded for what they have done." Revelation 14:13
4 comments:
as wonderfull as it must be to know that your mother is enjoying her time with the Lord now, it may ease the pain of loosing a parent but certainly does not fill the void. Im sure you know that you will be in our prayers.
Tears are falling as I read this. What a beautiful take on such a devastating time.
I am so sorry for your loss, yet so happy for your Mom. My heart felt ripped into pieces when my father passed - until I was told of the huge smile he had on his face when he left. So I know the hurt is my selfishness because I will miss him every day. But Dad and your Mom are in Heaven right now - surrounded by His glory and love, no pain, no confusion.
God Bless you and your family!
As always, you are in my prayers.
Sending a mental hug since we know you don't do the real thing:)
Moms, they are the one person in most of our lives who spoke their minds, with all the love that only a mom could have, of their concern and desires for what their children needed most. Those who had a mom that also loved God heard much wisdom that comes from years of quietly seeking His life. It was said, supposedly from Abraham Lincoln, that a tree is best measured when it is down. That is so true when we can examine and remember the life of one we loved and who tried to raise us in the best way they knew how. We can see now the value of what they were trying to accomplish.
Unfortunately, all too often, that is realized when the tree is felled and we can only reflect upon all that their life was. We can see the beginning and the end more clearly, musch like the measuring of the tree. We remember them fondly and hope to carry on what they sought to do in us and so we seek to instill in our own children.
That is their legacy. Lessons learned in the school of life that sometimes were not appreciated soon enough but that can be recalled and treasured as we move on through our own lives.
May our God comfort you in your loss and may you (and all of us) more deeply grow in His life that dwells in you as we draw nearer to our own homecoming with Him in His eternal kingdom.
15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
2 Cor 9:15 (HCSB)
When I hear you and others talk about your Mom and see her worn out Bible with the spine gone, two thoughts come to my mind. One is "Wow! What a wonderful legacy!" And the second is a much quieter and more relentless cry from somewhere deep inside: "Lord, I want to be like that. I want love you like that . . . to desire to know you like that." Thanks for sharing her with us. Sorry for your loss.
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